Empire of Vecracan
Overview The Empire of Vecracan is the most powerful nation on Aboris. Its military and economic might can only be rivaled by the Tribal Kingdom of Feridan and the Elven Kingdom of Allanor. Vecracan also controls almost all of the continent in one form or another and its population includes many different races, though 60% to 65% of the population is human. The capital of Ethos is the largest city known city and is the economic and educational center of Aboris. Relgorn Kholin II is the current Emperor and has ruled for almost 120 years, though it is rumored that the end of his life is rapidly approaching. As he has outlived his wife, children, and most other family, the heir to the throne is currently his nephew, Duke Stalrag Kholin. Recent History of Vecracan The earliest histories available to the public show that exist show that Vecracan was once a small kingdom that only controlled Ethos, Hector's Hold, Queenstown, and Cowskeep. Naussica and Arete were conquered from a human kingdom lost to time and Lyguin and Carrigan were conquered from an Elvish kingdom believed to be exiled from the Kingdom of Allanor. After these conquests, hundreds of years of peace and relative prosperity arrived where all the remaining cities west of the Aglarond mountain range were founded under Vecracan's banner. Well all except for Von Eroth, Everfall, and Von Azraq who are controlled by Vecracan's oldest trading partner, the Gnomish Realm of Krunbar. About 120 years ago in 75 BR, that relative peace came to an end. The third Khan of Feridan had come to power and was sending raiding parties throughout Aboris for loot and slaves. King Relgorn Khollin I died defending his people from a raid leaving his son to inherit the throne. The newly crowned and barely of age King Relgorn Kholin II was forced to lead his armies against numerous and powerful raids, watched many of his family and friends die, and saw hundreds, if not thousands of people slain or enslaved. After almost 20 years, the Khan finally died or was murdered and the tribes of Feridan turned against each other once again. Though the fighting was over, Vecracan was badly hurt and many villages and towns had to be repaired, including the city of Arete had been burnt to the ground. The damage was so great that it took the focus of the entire kingdom for the next 5 decades. Not all was horrible though. King Relgorn Kholin II found his wife, a young human woman named Milana Bell who had lost everything in the raids. They had one child; a son they named Tallin. The town of Macon would cause the next major event in Vecracan history. Macon had requested Vecracan's aid and intervention against the powers invading it. The petty kingdoms of Devonshire and Castile had been warring over Macon for the past 2 decades and had caused tremendous loss of life and property to Macon's citizens. Seeing an opportunity to expand Vecracan's territory, King Relgorn Kholin II agreed, declared war against both Devonshire and Castile, and destroyed their tired armies, and forced their surrender within 5 years. The petty kingdom of Aether also noticed the conquest and decided to bend knee to Vecracan in return for marrying the King's niece. With many military victories and new land to prove his power and right to rule, Relgorn Kholin II declared himself Emperor. The following 2 decades were filled with internal strife for the new Empire. Rebellions popped up everywhere and bandits preyed on the innocent in the resulting chaos. The Grey Guard became famous during this time by saving the Emperor's life and assisting in ending major rebellions in Castile and Devonshire. It was also during this time period that the Empress passed away from natural causes. The people of Vecracan finally had a period of peace, but it ended before it reached a decade. Disturbing news from Feridan had surfaced that someone had begun conquering the tribes and had named themselves Khan. Knowing firsthand the death and destruction the previous Khan had brought, Emperor Relgorn Kholin II began to prepare for the worst. He also reached out to the Kingdom of Oriath and the Kingdom of Aglarond to form a defensive pact and aid each other. Both kingdoms had been watching the conquest of Devonshire and Castile and feared that Vecracan was aiming to use them and then conquer them. They had already formed an alliance to aid each other due to that. Aglarond rejected Vecracan's messengers, but King Hamel Seastrong reluctantly agreed to hear Vecracan out. King Hamel had heard the same rumors and could still see the scars caused by the last Khan in his kingdom. With how many lives could be saved by this alliance, Emperor Relgorn Kholin II sent Prince Tallin to oversee the meeting. Curious about the kingdom and people he was to ally with, Prince Tallin decided to travel overland to Redcourt, but was assassinated before he made it. King Hamel immediately sent men to investigate, but they could find no clues beyond what the original witnesses saw. Emperor Relgorn Kholin II was furious and demanded King Hamel allow the Grey Guard into Oriath to investigate. Seeing this as a trick to take over his kingdom, King Hamel refused. Emperor Relgorn Kholin II, now believing that King Hamel was involved in the assassination, sent the Grey Guard anyway with an army to back them. The Kingdom of Aglarond answered King Hamel's call to arms and quickly assembled their army. Though the war only lasted 2 years, it was incredibly bloody. Militarily, Vecracan could bring almost triple the number of men Oriath and Aglarond could field combined, but Emperor Relgorn refused to leave his people undefended should the fourth Khan invade while he was preoccupied. Instead, the total number of Vecracan troops deployed to Oriath was about equal to half his available troops. Additionally, Emperor Relgorn prevented the armies of Aglarond and Oriath from meeting and bringing their combined strength down on Vecracan. Fighting a two front war was something Emperor Relgorn Kholin II had first hand experience with and he used it to badly bloody and frustrate his enemies. Major battles happened at Dorndale, Highwater Pass, and Celeste. Celeste was the major turning point of the war. The dwarves made a very aggressive push and the Vecracan army allowed to reach Celeste. King Thogur didn't realize how overextended he was until his scouts reported that they were surrounded. In the resulting battle, the rivers near Celeste quite literally ran red. With one enemy defeated, the armies of Vecracan pushed to Redcourt. To spare more of his men from dying, King Hamel surrendered. The following day, every noble previously captured or living in Redcourt were gathered together. In front of them all, Emperor Relgorn Kholin II personally executed King Hamel, his family, and anyone else with Seastrong blood in them. In total, about a hundred men, women, children, and newborns died that day. Oriath was broken and cowed, but an additional incident happened in Aramore. No rebellions have happened in the years since, but there are plenty of discontent whispers. The Kingdom of Aglarond surrendered as well, but were allowed to remain independent in return for an enormous tribute every year. At the Emperor's order, the massive fortress town of Brohlburg Pass was constructed to prevent any overland raids from Feridan. The rumors of this new Khan are still floating about, but raids haven't been any worse than normal as of yet. List of noble titles within the Empire Standard Titles * Emperor: Ruler of all of Vecracan. ** Current Emperor is Relgorn Kholin II. * Prince/Princess: Children of the Emperor. The heir would be titled the Crown Prince/Princess. May also meet the requirements to hold the title of a lesser noble position. ** There are no living Princes or Princesses. * Duke/Duchess: Rules a region capital and large portion of surrounding land. Rules over lesser local nobility. * Marquis: The son or daughter of a Duke who is set to inherit. ** The Marquis of Aether is Edren Kholin, Duke Stalrag's youngest son. * Earl: Rules a town and a small portion of surrounding land. Rules over lesser local nobility. * Viscount/Viscountess: The son or daughter of an Earl who is set to inherit. * Baron/Baroness: Rules over one or more villages. Barons are the lowest level of landed nobility. * Baronet: The son or daughter of a Baron who is set to inherit. * Lord/Lady: Sons or daughters of nonruling nobility that aren't intended to inherit land. Uncommon Titles * Protector: Title given by the Emperor which gives complete and total control of a region in emergencies or where long-term and in-depth supervision will be required. ** Duke Stalrag Kholin is currently the Protector of Oriath. ** There are no other Protectors at this time. Major cities currently controlled by Vecracan * Ethos * Hector's Hold * Queenstown * Cowskeep * Dayrest * Arca * New Knossos (Formerly Arkalay) * Naussica * Arete * Lyguin * Carrigan * Llyn * Aylesbury * Madigan * Palaver * Selenas * Brooklyn * Brise * Sissone * Devonshire * Walkwood * Castile * Macon * Aether * Telle * Redcourt * Renaka * Aramore * Dorndale * Coverdale * Celeste * Hearthstone * Hawthonn * Hamath * Brohlburg Pass * Melrose